Céad Míle Fáilte ~ A Hundred Thousand Welcomes!

Here we seek a rest in the shade, some cool water and a little kindness. This blog is dedicated to peace, truth, justice and a post- industrial, post-petroleum illumined world in spite of all odds against it. I very much like the line about the ancient knight (see poem below) "His helmet now shall make a hive for bees" It is reminiscent of "beating swords into ploughshares" a sentiment I heartily approve of. Thank you for visiting ~ I hope you return!

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Eleftheria!! Freedom!!

"A lot of teenagers identify with Grigoropoulos," said Christos Mazanitis, an Athenian journalist. "There's a whole generation out there who see their parents in debt and feel they have nothing to look forward to in the future. Fear and despair are what these riots are about."

Ελευθερία ή θάνατος - freedom or death! is the motto of Greece. It arose during the Greek War of Independence in the 1820s, where it was a war cry for the Greeks who rebelled against Ottoman rule. It was adopted after the Greek War of Independence. It was the motto of a tiny land which resisted the Nazis during WWII, and Oxi Day, (pronounced Oh-hee)literally "NO Day" still is commemorated by Greek people around the world, as the day they said NO to the Nazis and facists. * They suffered greatly for it. It is still in use today, and is symbolically evoked by the use of 9 stripes (for the nine syllables of the motto) in the Greek flag. The motto symbolized and still does symbolizes the resolve of the people of Greece against tyranny and oppression.

So it was not a surprise to me to hear of the massive riots plaguing Greece, especially Athens, where the police recently shot and killed a 15-year-old boy in cold blood. The Hellenic peoples invented democracy and to this day do not like the state very much, especially when it malfunctions badly enough to shoot their children dead. Now, I do not condone violence no matter who does it, but as always, I commend the Greek people on once again saying Oxi!! No!!to the simply unacceptable.

From Breitbart.

QUOTE Massive riots first erupted Saturday across the country, from Thessaloniki in the north to the island of Crete in the south, after 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos was fatally shot by a police officer in Athens' often volatile Exarchia district.The circumstances surrounding the shooting are unclear, but the two officers involved have been arrested; one has been charged with murder and the other as an accomplice. A coroner's report shows the boy was shot in the chest.Schools were to shut Tuesday in mourning, while staff at universities declared a three-day strike.The Police Officers' Association has apologized to the boy's family, and President Karolos Papoulias sent a telegram to his parents expressing his condolences."All the dangerous and unacceptable events that occurred because of the emotions that followed the tragic incident cannot and will not be tolerated," Karamanlis said in a live televised address Monday morning. "The state will protect society."But his calls for calm went unheeded and the scenes of destruction are likely to further dent the government's popularity. UNQUOTE

* Wikipedia: This ultimatum, which was presented to Metaxas by the Italian ambassador in Greece, Emanuele Grazzi, on October 28, 1940, at dawn (04:00 AM), after a party in the German embassy in Athens, demanded that Greece allow Axis forces to enter Greek territory and occupy certain unspecified "strategic locations" or otherwise face war. It was allegedly answered with a single laconic word: όχι or no. Most scholars dismiss the use of the word 'Okhi' as an urban legend, claiming that the actual reply was the French phrase "Alors, c'est la guerre" ("Then it is war"). In response to Metaxas's refusal, Italian troops stationed in Albania, then an Italian protectorate, attacked the Greek border at 05:30 AM. Metaxas's reply marked the beginning of Greece's participation in World War II (see Greco-Italian War and Battle of Greece).On the morning of October 28th the Greek population took to the streets, irrespective of political affiliation, shouting 'okhi!'. From 1942, it was celebrated as Okhi Day.

About Me, and About The Herb of Grace

I am a 57-year old wife, mother and grandmother who currently works as a beadworker, web mistress for my husband's jewelry store/art gallery and CASA volunteer. In my life I have been a seminarian, Protestant minister, professional cook, payroll clerk, hospital orderly, columnist, cook/gardener for a commune in San Francisco in the 1970's and 80's, opthalmalogy paraprofesional, financial advisor (now retired. I held Series 6, 63 and 65 securities licenses, and insurance lines of life, annuities and variable contacts)and was a small business owner from 2003 to 2008 (Calm Eagle Family Financials LLC). Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Eastern Rite and Traditional (Latin Rite)Catholicism, ancient Irish, Buddhist and Native American spiritualities all inform my worldview and spirituality. You will find a kindred spirit here if you value the wisdom of the Holy Spirit and of Mother Earth in equal measure, for they are each other's right and left hands.

~~~Namaste, and peace be with you.

Also known as the herb of grace, and rue, rosemary has deep associations with penance, resurrection, nativity and joy. This blog is dedicated to the spirit of peace, joy and life triumphant. Legend has it that during the flight to Egypt,the Virgin Mary draped her blue cloak over a white flowering rosemary bush to dry. The blooms have been blue ever since to represent Mary’s blue cloak.

Rosemary is known as the "herb of remembrance." It is said that rosemary will grow particularly well in gardens tended by strong-willed women.

The Old Knight

His golden locks time to silver turned;O time too swift,O swiftness never ceasing;His youth 'gainst time and age hath ever spurned,But spurned in vain; youth waneth by increasing;Beauty, strength, youth, are flowers but fading seen;Duty, faith, love are roots, and ever green.His helmet now shall make a hive for bees;And, lovers' sonnets turned to holy psalms,A man-at-arms must now serve on his knees,And feed on prayers, which are age's alms;But though from court to cottage he depart,His saint is sure of his unspotted heart.And when he saddest sits in homely cell,He'll teach his swains this carol for a song;"Blest be the hearts that wish my sovereign well,Curst be the souls that think her any wrong."Goddess, allow this aged man his right,To be your beadsman now, that was your knight. ~ by George Peele